Key learnings from India's 2011 World Cup-winning campaign
"Dhoni finishes off in style, a magnificent strike into the crowd. India lift the World Cup after 28 years!" April 2, 2011, is etched in the hearts of every Indian fan. India defeated Sri Lanka in front of a packed Wankhede crowd to lift the World Cup trophy. Several factors contributed to India's success in the tournament. Here are a few of them.
India had a superb top order
India had the best top-order batters, going into the 2011 World Cup. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and the great Virender Sehwag gave India some solid starts throughout the tournament. While Tendulkar slammed two tons and averaged 53.55, Sehwag made headlines by starting India's innings with a four each time. Gautam Gambhir was India's number-three batter. His 97-run knock in the final will be eternal.
Batters rolled their arms over
India had a terrific bunch of batters, who could also roll their arms over when required. Each of Sehwag, Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, and Yuvraj Singh could bowl spin in the middle overs. Therefore, skipper Dhoni magnificently utilized his bowlers in Indian conditions. Yuvraj was the most productive of all, having produced breakthroughs at crucial junctures. The left-arm spinner finished with 15 wickets at 25.13.
The emergence of spinners
The Indian side of 2011 was studded with spinners, with Harbhajan Singh leading the attack. The tournament also saw the rise of Ravichandran Ashwin, who took two crucial wickets against Australia in the quarter-final. Even Yusuf Pathan was handy with the ball momentarily.
A safe bank in Zaheer Khan
India had a mainstay left-arm seamer in the form of Zaheer Khan. Zaheer, who was enjoying his purple patch back then, perturbed the batters with the new ball. He finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker of the World Cup 2011 (21 wickets at 18.76), with Pakistan's Shahid Afridi. Notably, Zaheer took five of these wickets in the first 10 overs.
India's treasured warrior!
More than anything else, Yuvraj's all-round exploits made headlines throughout the tournament. Days after the WC concluded, it was reported that he contracted cancer during the tournament. This meant Yuvraj played the tournament in pain, which was undiagnosed. Yuvraj was named the Player of the Tournament. He became the first-ever player with the double of over 300 runs and 15 wickets.
Yuvraj later defeated the deadly cancer
Yuvraj was later diagnosed with "mediastinal seminoma", a germ-cell tumor located between his two lungs. He scored a ton against West Indies after retching up while batting. Yuvraj underwent nine weeks of chemotherapy before returning to the field.
Dhoni, India aced situations
From thrashing Bangladesh to suffering their only defeat of the tournament to South Africa, India saw it all. However, skipper Dhoni aced most situations. In their second match, England were cruising on 281/3 while chasing 339. Dhoni brought back Zaheer into the attack, who dismissed a set Andrew Strauss (158), Ian Bell (69), and Paul Collingwood. The match eventually ended in a tie.
